I just got off the phone doing a ‘laser’ coaching session with someone who really inspired me.  She inspired me because in just 20 minutes, I was able to get her back on her right path which is always very cool in my book.

This is a gal who is working a full time job but yearns to be a life coach.  She has a passion, has great ideas, and wants to quit her job by December.  She came to the call asking for help with clarity because she was overwhelmed and seemed not to be able to get past obstacles in her life.

Her solution to her desire to become a life coach????  Join a network marketing company.  She began the call by telling me how important it was for her to be able to spend time with her kids, and that she worked full time, but she thought that doing network marketing would get her income.  (It sounded pretty crazy in my book!)

Here’s the deal….when I listen to folks in a coaching situation, I always listen for the passion – or the lack of it.  In her case, I said, “It seems like you are living in San Diego, wanting to go to Seattle, but you are traveling there via New York City.”  Catch the metaphor, gang?

The reason she was bumping into blocks and couldn’t move forward was because she wasn’t on her right path.  Not that determining one’s path is up to me, but particularly when working with moms who have only a few hours to build a business, I’m a bit militant about making sure their time is spent on high payoff activities.

Wanna know where she was stuck?  She didn’t think she was ‘enough’ to be a life coach. She had researched coaching schools, but discovered it would take six months to earn a certification.

So her plan was to jump into network marketing and HOPEFULLY, earn enough $$ to quit her day job. But I’ve coached enough people over the years that it takes a ton of time and commitment to earn $$ that way, and for this woman, it seemed like a really bad plan! (Note that I’m not trashing networking marketing because that can be a good strategy for some, but not in this case.)

This is where as a coach I have to really check in and see how bold I can be.  But what I know is that showing someone the truth, or helping them get back on track isn’t the same as being a dream stealer.

I took a deep breath and asked if she wanted my opinion.  “Yes.”  I asked if right now she had enough content in her coaching repertoire to help people.  “Yes.”  Did she have a group of folks she could help?  “Yes.”  And finally, would she be willing to take those six month and put together something (even if it’s free or low cost) just to start coaching?  “YES!”

She already has the passion, vision, ideas, creativity, determination, market, and time.  But she had convinced herself that without going to coaching school, she couldn’t do anything in the direction of her dreams. My plan with her was to roll something out to be able to test her theories, build her list, confidence, and actually earn some $$ doing it.  I really believe that in six months she could earn more doing what she loved than showing up half-way to try a network thing that she’d quit a short time later.  And….she can still go  to coaching school because its a great idea to get the foundational pieces, but my whole point to her that she was enough right now, with what she had, to get started.

Here’s the truth – there’s no way this woman would have been successful.  Or if she had gotten some income, she would not have been fulfilled.  Why?  Because she was creating a business that didn’t serve her life nor her values.  That’s the key.  So look now at your business.  Is it in alignment with what you love?  Do you have passion, or are you just chasing a buck?

So let me asked you my dear readers…what’s your excuse?  What are you waiting for?  What is the ‘if I only had this’ story that is holding you back?  My encouragement is for you to see what it is that you want to be doing and find some way….even if it’s small….to start doing that.  You may not be able to have the whole enchilada, but a few chips would be nice!

Remember – you are fully cooked.  Now get out there and BE!